Altered
by Pari
Summary: A/U set within Season 7. Bonnie casts a spell that will forever change her relationship with Damon. I wrote this in one sitting and didn't want to post it until I was completely done. This is the entire story, there will be no other parts to this one. I hope you read, enjoy, and review.
1. Chapter 1

"And what happened to yours?" She asked as she walked through the door that he held open for her to enter the boardinghouse.

"I don't know, I guess I just misplaced it," He offered and she knew it was a lie, just as she knew that he knew that she knew it was a lie. Yet he still told it with such ease.

"Fine, then it would make more sense for me to do a locator spell-"

"No!" He cut off that idea and the tone of the simple word made Bonnie Bennett turn and squint her eyes at her best friend Damon Salvatore.

"Why not, Damon?" She asked as she folded her arms across her chest to prepare herself to hear of some nonsense, he had gotten himself into … AGAIN.

"Because it's not important, and besides I've been meaning to upgrade it anyway," Damon continued to lie as he walked over to the bar to fix himself a drink.

"Uh-huh, you know what, I don't have time for this today. I really don't," Bonnie announced as she unfolded her arms and raised her hands in surrender. "So, if you aren't going to tell me the truth then I won't help you," With that said she turned to walk back out.

"Wait, you're just gonna leave?" He asked a bit stunned that she wasn't more eager to help him as she typically was. "I have been stuck in this house all day, dying until you finally got out of your classes."

"First of all, you're already dead," Bonnie said with a smile to which Damon raised his brow and smirked at her. "And secondly … what the fuck happened to your ring, Damon?"

"Fine," He grumbled out as he smacked his empty glass back on the countertop and poured another drink. "I had a friend over and I think they might have picked it up by accident."

"Sooo, you had a girl over last night and she robbed you before she snuck out? And I don't even want the details on how she managed to get it off your finger without you knowing," Bonnie elaborated on what likely really did happen. "Why was that so hard for you to say, like over the phone?"

Damon thought on her question for a second. Why didn't he want to tell her the truth? He came to the conclusion that the fact of the matter was that out of anyone he knew, Bonnie Bennett's opinion of him mattered most. Also, if he were to be completely honest with himself, he felt like he was betraying her by having female acquaintances in his bed. He held some slight guilt with regards to Elena as well, but with Bonnie he just didn't want her to know about it.

"C'mon Bon-Bon help your old pal…"

"Actually, it's really only been about a year and a half since we've started our friendship," She countered as she feigned disinterest as she looked over to the huge fireplace where a fire brewed.

"And your very best friend in the world," He continued choosing to ignore but still smiled at her comment.

"I'd say that's kind of a toss-up between Caroline and Elena," She threw in knowing that that was actually a lie. Damon really had become her very best friend is such a short time, and she knew that he knew it too. She also knew that she was his. They had finally gotten to a point where they both truly cherished their friendship. They were bonded though neither would ever be able to tell anyone when that had actually happened nor how.

"Will you help me? Or will I have to find some second-rate witch who will likely screw it all up, and I will end up dying a very painful and fiery death," Damon said dramatically but knew it would rile Bonnie up and give her cause for concern. The one thing you could rely on with Bonnie was her concern for the people she cared most about. She had literally died to save her friends. But as he watched the way she pulled at her bottom lip he suddenly regretted using that threat to manipulate and scare her. "C'mon Bonnie we both know you're gonna help me. So, why do we have to do this song and dance?"

"Because once upon a time it was fun," She replied. "You know, you needing something from me, me making you beg me for it. Things between us have gotten very boring since we've become friends."

"I'm sorry. Do you want me to start hating you again? Because we're heading that way today," Damon mumbled out as he took a sip of his bourbon. She simply rolled her green eyes before she locked them onto him.

"Please, you've never really hated me, not even back when we were sworn enemies, and you know it," She stated and he raised his glass a bit to salute her very true statement. "Fine, let's do this so I can leave and go enjoy the rest of my day. I do have a life you know and it doesn't revolve around you."

"You sure about that?" He teased.

"Oh, so you don't want my help then?" She retorted as she again turned towards the door. He settled his empty glass on the bar top and stepped over to her and blocked her exit.

"Yes, I do want your help, Bonnie," He spoke as he grasped her about her shoulders. "Please save me. Make me a new daylight ring so that I'm not stuck in this house all day, every day."

"Fine," She agreed and he pulled her into his embrace, leaned down, quickly kissed the top of her head, and then released her. "Do you have a photo that clearly shows you wearing the ring?"

"Uhm," Damon thought as he glanced around the room. "Nothing recent I don't think."

"Doesn't have to be recent, it just has to show you wearing the ring," Bonnie stated and flinched a bit as Damon flashed away and then back to her just as quickly. He held out a photo of himself. Bonnie took it and studied the slightly faded photo of Damon with a group of people at what looked to be at some fancy party. "Wow, look at you, looking so suave and debonair. A tux looks good on you. When was this taken?"

"Back in the late 50s, early 60s. What I like to call the dark ages."

"Why?"

"I had turned off my humanity and was out for revenge. I killed every single person in that photo just because the party started to get boring to me," He stated nonchalantly but Bonnie could still hear the regret in his voice as she lifted her eyes to his.

"Well, you have your humanity turned on now and granted you can be a real asshole sometimes, you're not like this Damon anymore," She said as she tapped the picture. "Now, give me your hand," She commanded and he bunched up his brow a little in confusion but still placed his hand into her offered one. Damon stared down at his hand wrapped inside of hers and he found that he liked how their different skin tones complemented each other. It was a beautiful combination. And for a split second, a flash of other parts of their bodies entwined crossed his mind. He quickly shut them out and then shot his eyes up to Bonnie's face to gauge if she had somehow read his impure thought, but found that she had her eyes closed and her mouth mumbled out some chant. She then snapped her eyes opened and looked up at his as a smile spread across her face. Damon discovered a while back that he loved to see Bonnie smile, and loved it, even more, when he was the reason for her smile. She turned over his hand which she still held, he looked down at his hand and was shocked to see his ring was back where it was supposed to be. "You're welcome, and try not to lose that one. I'll see you later," Bonnie spoke out as she was already in the foyer making her way to the front door.

"Hang on," Damon called out to her as he flashed after her and put himself between her and the front door. "Now that I am able to leave the house let me buy you lunch as a way to say thank you," He offered but she shook her head at the idea.

"You only need to say, 'Thank you, Bonnie' to thank me, Damon," She stated as she smirked up at him.

"Thank you, Bonnie," He complied.

"You're welcome, now I really have to go," She added as she tried to push him from the door but he wouldn't budge as he cocked his eyes at her curiously.

"And why do you really have to go? What kind of plans do you have, maybe I could join-"

"No!" She quickly interjected. "My plans are my business and sorry but you cannot join me today."

"Why not?"

"Damon."

"Bonnie?"

"Would you please move so I can leave?" She asked as she smacked his chest but with no real force behind it.

"Have you met a … boooy?" He asked in a teasing manner but the thought of it did irk him. Bonnie groaned a bit as she rolled her eyes at him.

"I am not having this conversation with you, Damon. Besides, it's none of your business anyway."

"Huh, so it's someone I clearly would not approve of?" He declared as he folded his arms across his chest, leaned back more comfortably against the door, and squinted is eyes a bit as he stared down at Bonnie.

"You don't approve of anyone I date," Bonnie replied as she flailed her arms a bit in exasperation. "And you give the worse dating advice."

"All the guys you've dated are idiots and so beneath you. Don't even get me started on 'Jeremy Gilbert'," Damon countered. "And I give you excellent dating advice."

"Anytime I ask for your advice about a guy I like you always say the same thing, 'He sounds like a loser, Bonnie, dump him'," She countered as she now folded her arms across her chest.

"So, you don't want my true and honest advice then?"

"I want you to act like my best friend looking out for my best interest, and not act like some…jealous boyfriend," She mumbled out the last bit as it dawned on her in that moment that that was exactly how Damon acted whenever it came to her dating. And she could tell by the look in his eyes that he realized it too. "Look, I have a coffee date with a 'friend', who just happens to be a guy. We will likely hang out for an hour maybe two, and then I will come back here and we can have a movie night, okay?"

"Oh, good golly," Damon gasped out sarcastically as he clutched his hands together in front of him. "And can we braid each other's hair and do each other's make-up too?" He then batted his lashes for effect. Bonnie couldn't stop the giggle that was pulled from her at his antics.

"Fine asshole, forget it then," She cursed at him even though she was smiling. "I was just trying to show you that I can still be present in your life, be here for you even if I start a relationship with someone else."

"Yeah, easy for you to say when the said relationship is just hypothetical," Damon huffed out and Bonnie knew it was time to come clean.

"It's not hypothetical," She said as she averted her eyes to the floor, while Damon scowled at her. "I've been seeing Enzo for about a month now, and things are kind of getting serious," Damon's look of confusion turned to disgust as he frowned up.

"Enzo? Wait, 'my' Enzo?" He questioned and this brought a frown to Bonnie's face.

"God, I hope not," She replied. "You two never…" She let the question hang there and Damon took a moment to reflect and think on it before he replied.

"No, we were just locked up together and tortured for half a decade together. We bonded and grew closer during that time, but never 'that' close."

"Good to know. Look, we've only gone on a few dates … every night … for the past …month," Bonnie finally confessed and she could see Damon tighten his jaws as the muscles started to twitch. She knew that he was really pissed and she didn't fully understand why. "I know that he's your best guy friend and I'm your best female friend…"

"Bonnie, you're my bestie, your card trumps his."

"Really?" She cooed as she had sometimes wondered about that very thing. "Aww, thanks, Damon."

"But Enzo is also a friend and I don't know that I like you dating him," He stated honestly.

"Well, Damon, I'm not asking your permission nor do I need it," Bonnie announced as she rolled her neck a bit at his audacity.

"You're absolutely right, Bonnie," He said doing a complete 180 and made Bonnie look at him confused.

"I am?" She asked as she watched him move from in front of the door and then opened it for her.

"Yes, you are," He contended as he placed his hand on the small of her back and then ushered her across the threshold and out the door. "Now, you go and have a fun coffee date with Enzo."

"Damon, what's going on?" Bonnie asked as she turned and regarded him suspiciously. Rarely did he give up so easily when they had one of their many disagreements.

"Nothing. You seem to think that I meddle in your relationships too much and give you piss poor advice about men. So, this time I shall stay out of it, out of respect to the fact that you and Enzo are probably the only two true friends I have. So, if you two have somehow found happiness with each other well then, I am truly very happy for you, and I shall stay out of it."

"Are you planning to crash in on our date?"

"No." He answered fat-of-fact which only made her wearier.

"Oh God, you're planning to kill him," She stated and he had to roll his eyes and pretend that she was being ridiculous when really that the thought had played in his mind.

"And you call me a drama queen," Damon said. "No, Bonnie, I promise you that I am not gonna impose on your date with Enzo, nor am I going to kill him. Now, go have fun and we can have our movie night some other time."

"O…Okay," She stuttered out as she turned and began to walk to her car, but then she stopped and turn back to him a couple of times before she spoke again. "You sure you don't want me to stop back by later and we can just hang out?" A part of her felt somewhat guilty over the fact that he now knew she had sort of, kind of been dating his friend Enzo and had not told him.

"Bon-Bon, you know this door is always open to you, anytime, day or night," He proclaimed. "But I think I might go out tonight and paint the town red."

"Not with the blood of the innocent I hope?" She replied with a hint of true concern in her voice, which he took note of.

"Bonnie Bennett, you really need to get laid," He tossed out jokingly but also to test the waters to see where she was in this relationship with Enzo. Knowing would help him determine how badly he would have to hurt the man he once thought of as his best friend.

"Well, if I'm lucky and if Enzo plays his cards right, maybe I will," She said around a giggle and then she opened the door to her car, got in, cranked it up, and then drove away without even a wave goodbye. She knew that her last reply had been a complete lie just to get under Damon's skin, Sure she could admit that she did enjoy the time she had been spending with Enzo but it was all very much platonic and she knew that it would not likely ever develop into something romantic. Although, she was sure Enzo was hoping it would. But something inside of her screamed to her that he just was not the one, and she always listened to that voice within.

Damon held the smile on his face until Bonnie had driven off. He then moved back into the boardinghouse, grabbed his coat from the coat rack, and then flashed through the house and out the back. He went out in search of Enzo to let him know under no uncertain term was Bonnie to be another notch on his bed, like the pretty little brunette they had both partied with the night before, who had ended up going home with Enzo.

The second the back door slammed shut the unseen man descended the staircase as he played back all of the things he had heard and seen since he had been in the house. None of it had made any sense and seemed impossible. And if he were not standing where he was in that moment, he wouldn't have believed it possible himself. He moved to the study where he knew the good liquor was kept and he always did his best thinking with a drink in hand. He had to really think about his current situation and try to figure out how to fix it.


	2. Chapter 2

**Much later**

* * *

"Damon Salvatore!" Bonnie's voice boomed through the seemingly empty boardinghouse and was quickly followed by the slamming of the front door. Bonnie knew that Damon was home as she saw his car was parked in its usual spot outside. And she hadn't bothered with being more respectful and quieter as she also knew that Stefan and Caroline had already left earlier that day to spend the weekend at the Salvatore lake house and would not be back until Sunday evening. She first moved to the study then to the kitchen, but she didn't find Damon. "You better hide because when I find you, you're dead meat," She threatened as she stomped up the stairs and straight to his bedroom. She threw the door opened and was a little surprised to find him settled back against the massive amounts of pillows, with the white dress shirt he wore unbutton, as he traced his fingers over the picture of Elena that he held. The fight instantly went out of her as she saw the pain and longing in his eyes as he lifted his eyes from the picture up to gaze at her. "Are you okay?" She asked as she entered the room and moved to stand at the foot of the huge bed. He let his head tilt a little to the side as he regarded her.

"Now, I was sure what with the way you entered my house, screaming my name like a banshee while slamming doors, that you were mad at me," He said around a slight smile. "Yet here you are, Bonnie?" The fact that he rolled out her name like he was asking her peaked her interested. "Looking so very concerned and asking me if I am okay. I am by the way, but I have just had the strangest of days. And I have just been lying about waiting for someone, anyone really, to stop by and help me."

"Help you with what?" She asked as she wrapped her arms around herself as if chilled. As she looked over at her best friend in the world, a man she knew better than anyone, he seemed wrong. "Damon, what's going on with you? And did you dye your hair black?" She added as she frowned up while she let her eyes roam over his thick black tresses.

"No, it's always been as black as my heart," He replied as he settled the picture of Elena back on the bedside table. "We'll get back to this a little later," He tapped his finger against the picture frame. He then slowly rose from the bed and stepped to where Bonnie stood. As she watched him every hair on her body stiffened. Something within her wanted her to run away but there was something else within her telling her not to turn her back on him. She hadn't had such uncertainties and fears towards Damon for years, not since she had first discovered what he really was. "You want me, Bonnie?" His question and the low sensual tone of them snapped her from her internal thoughts and made her suddenly aware of just how close he had gotten to her. He hadn't even flashed but took a slow almost seductive trek to her.

"W…what?" She spoke out in complete confusion to his words.

"You just came in screaming my name, and I must tell you I really liked hearing you scream my name," He declared as he reached out and let his fingers play with her auburn hair which settled across her shoulders and down her back.

"Damon, what's wrong with you? Has something happened? God, I hope the spell I did on your ring didn't make you crazy. Well, crazier than usual," She joked and tossed out a playful smile that she hoped would lighten the heaviness she felt being in the room with him.

"The spell, right," He said as he nodded his head. "Tell me, Bonnie, exactly what was that spell that you did on my ring?" He questioned and locked his eyes onto her. Bonnie let out a gasped as she stared back into his eyes and didn't find the usual sky-blue irises. Instead, she stared in to complete blackness, into nothingness. She stumbled back a step as an overwhelming feeling of flight filled her. But Damon dug his fingers into her scalp and he fisted her hair to yank her back to him. "No, don't fly away little birdie. Tell me about the spell that you did on me witch!" He growled out as black veins started to slowly creep across his face while his fangs elongated in his mouth.

"It was just a spell to duplicate your daylight ring that you lost don't you remember?" Bonnie whimpered out as a few tears slipped from her eyes. The merciless grip he held tightly on her hair was causing her head to throb and hurt.

"No, I remember having a delightful time at a New Year's party, eating the guest and then I was here," He stated as he viciously yanked her hair at the end. Realization dawned on Bonnie that this Damon standing before her, hurting her was not 'her' Damon. It was the Damon from the 50s photo. The Damon with his humanity turned off. The Damon who very likely planned to kill her. "So, whatever it is that you did, undo it. NOW!" She jumped a little in his clutches but didn't reply to his demands. Instead, she chanted a spell.

"Solvo!" She called out but nothing happened. She lifted her surprised eyes up to his face and found him smirking at her.

"Well, I'll be damned," He said around a chuckle. "Hazel's spell blocking mumbo-jumbo actually worked, so no witch can cast any spells on me. Guess, I'll have to get her a very nice Christmas present this year. You see, I too like to keep little witches around to do my bidding. It really does come in handy sometimes. I will admit, I usually just snap their necks once they've done what I need them to do, but your Damon, he keeps you around. Why is that?" He asked as he lifted his free hand up and squeezed her breast almost savagely, and Bonnie's eyes doubled in size from fear and embarrassment that filled her. "Do you do other things for him besides casting spells, Bonnie?"

"No," She sobbed out her tears pouring more heavily as she shook her head while she struggled to free herself from his clutches. He simply laughed in her face.

"I don't know that I believe you," He spoke and then slid his free hand from her breast down across her waist, down her thighs, and reach it under the short skirt she wore. Bonnie gripped at his roaming hand with both of her hands. She pulled with all of her might but to no avail.

"No, please don't…please, please stop," She cried frantically and his hand did stop somewhat. He settled his palm to her hot center and traced his fingers against the crease of her inner right thigh. He let the fingers pluck at the elastic of her panties. With the hand he still had locked in her hair he tugged her face closer to his as he leaned in and kissed her forehead and then her cheek. He rubbed his nose against hers and then across her wet cheek and right to her temple.

"I like how you beg, Bonnie," This dark Damon whispered into her ear and then stuck his tongue out and licked the side of her face. "I bet I can make you beg for me not to stop," He proclaimed as he slowly began to push aside the elastic of her panties. Bonnie closed her eyes and sobbed mournfully, resigned to the fact that this duplicate Damon planned to rape her, likely kill her afterward, and she didn't have the strength nor power to fend him off. Worst of all she knew she had been the creator of this nightmare that she found herself in. She waited for his fingers to penetrate her but instead, he had yanked his hand up from under her skirt and gripped her arm. She opened her eyes to look at him as she shook with fear. By the way, he stared at the opened door she knew he heard something or someone. Damon? Bonnie secretly prayed but her fear wouldn't allow her to cry out to her Damon, who she knew would be at her side within seconds. Just as she knew this Damon who held her would have snapped her neck before a sound left her lips. Her brain and body were now running in complete self-preservation mode, so she stayed silent.

"Bonnie, where are you?" Damon called from downstairs. "I saw your car in the driveway, so I know you're here, and before you hijack me with some mojo. I can explain about Enzo standing you up," He stated and then waited but only got silence in return. But then his nose caught a whiff of something he was familiar with, Bonnie's tears. And he clamped his eyes shut and cursed himself for being the reason, yet again, for hurting her.

"Sorry, looks like we'll have to do this some other time, little bird," Dark Damon whispered to her and then flashed his fangs into her throat, viciously tore her skin, and drank deeply from her. This only invoked a gasp of surprise from Bonnie's lips. But that gasp along with the smell of her fresh blood had Damon flashing up the stairs to find her.

"Bonnie!?" Damon called out to her in a louder more panicked tone which sounded muffled to her ears as darkness consumed her. The tight hold that had been the only thing holding her up at that point, released her and she unceremoniously crumbled to the floor just as Damon appeared at his bedroom door. "Oh God, Bonnie!" He rushed to her and lifted her up and cradle her into his arms. He brushed her hair from her face and noticed the mangled bloody mess that had been made of her neck. He wasn't allowed to wallow in the despair and rage that had filled him from the sight of it for very long.

"She'll live," A familiar voice touched his ears and Damon snapped his head up and looked to the now opened window, the only one in the room, but it was oversized. His eyes widened as his mouth fell open from the shock of seeing his doppelganger perched on the window sill. "I'm not done with her yet. Please do let her know that I'll be back to see her real soon," Dark Damon announced before he leaped out the window and in the next second Damon saw a big black crow cawing at him as it flew away.


	3. Chapter 3

"Damon, where are you?" The male voice called out as he walked through the corridor in search of his friend, who had called him frantically nearly an hour beforehand and ordered him to bring as much O-neg blood he could steal.

"Alaric, I'm in here. Hurry up!" Damon hissed out as Alaric appeared at his bedroom door with two duffle bags of blood. He faltered as he took in the sight of an unconscious Bonnie lying in Damon's bed with a gaping bloody wound in her neck.

"What the hell happened Damon?" He questioned the man who had already rushed to him and yanked one of the bags of blood from his hand. Damon then moved back to the bed, set the bag on a nearby chair, opened it, grabbed one of the blood bags, and began attaching it to the IV he had already rigged up to Bonnie as he awaited Alaric's arrival. "Who attacked Bonnie like this, and why didn't you just heal her. She looks like she could go any second."

"Shut the fuck up, Ric," Damon roared at his long-time friend, who had always been the voice of reason for him. But at this moment, he couldn't handle his truths. He focused back on the task of setting up the blood transfusion as he made sure the flow was steady and strong.

"Damon, who did this to Bonnie?" Alaric questioned again but in a calmer tone as he could now see just how scared Damon was.

"I did," Damon admitted as he lifted his wet red eyes to his friend.

"What?" Alaric said in disbelief and also anger.

"It wasn't really me," Damon continued. "Well, it was me, but not 'me, me'," His words only made Alaric more confused. "Apparently I have a doppelganger Mystic Falls and he did this to Bonnie," He finally got out. He then focused his eyes back down to his best friend as he reached his hand out to stroke her hair which crowned her face.

"Wait, there's another you running around Mystic Falls? Lord, help us all."

"Alaric, does this look like a time for your goddamn jokes?" Damon growled out and Alaric bowed his head a bit in shame.

"I'm sorry, but why didn't you just heal her with your blood?"

"I couldn't she had already lost too much and I couldn't risk…" He let the remain words die on his lips.

"You couldn't risk turning her," Alaric finished as he nodded his head in understanding.

"And if I did that, no matter how good my intentions were, she'd never forgive me. She'd hate me forever," Damon repeated verbatim words Bonnie had said to him once when he had started a discussion with her about whether she wanted to become a vampire. The discussion had turned in to 'what-if' scenarios and in every one, Bonnie had opted to die rather than be turned into a vampire. She had made him promise her that he wouldn't under any circumstances ever turn her. He hesitated until she described an eternity of hatred towards him if he did it. The thought of spending forever with his best friend but not having her loving support but instead her hatred had made him relent and promise her. He had already experienced the hate of Bonnie Bennett, then he found her friendship. He knew that it would devastate him to revert backward. But he also had no intentions of letting her die and had already worked out a manipulative plan to get Stefan or some other vampire to turn her someday, in which case his hands would remain clean and she would hate them instead. He could live with the guilt of that but he was sure he couldn't live without Bonnie.

"But why did he do this to Bonnie? I mean, that bite it seems as if he wanted her to suffer," Alaric assessed and Damon shook his head to his words.

"No, he wanted to mark her," Damon stated. "It was something I used to do to humans I 'liked'." He confessed one of his dark secrets that he had never shared with anyone before that moment. "You see, most humans don't have vampire friends to heal them or in this case turn them. But if they can get to the hospital in time, get a transfusion, they can recover but-"

"They'd have a souvenir for the rest of their lives," Alaric finished.

"Yes, and any vampire who sees it will know that they belonged to another," Damon added. "We'll get some blood into her and then I will heal her the rest of the way. She's already getting her color back," he said as he dropped to his knees at the bedside, grasped one of her hands, and sandwiched it between his larger hands.

"Yeah, just that one bag looks to have gotten her more stabilized just in the few minutes I've been here," Alaric agreed. "But she'll probably need to finish that bag and another to be stable enough for you to completely heal her. I'll go makes some coffee and bring you up some."

"And bring some orange juice for Bonnie," Damon ordered and Alaric nodded. He then walked over to where Damon had placed the other bag of blood, took out two of the packages and then lifted up the bag to carry with him to refrigerate. Damon focused his full attention back onto Bonnie as he fluffed up the pillows she rested against.

"Mmhmm," Bonnie moaned out as if she were awakening though her eyes remained closed.

"It's okay, Bon-Bon. You're safe," He assured as he brushed his knuckles across her cheek. He watched her eyes roll behind her lids, her brow bunch up as she fought to regain consciousness. Then her eyes started to flutter open. When she finally opened them, Damon released a sigh of relief. "Look, Sleepy Beauty has finally awakened," He spoke softly as he continued to stroke her cheek and hair. Bonnie's eyes enlarged as she stared up at him with a horror-stricken gaze. Her mouth fell open and she let out an ear-piercing scream.

"Ahhhhhh! No, no, no, no," Bonnie cried out as she tried to scramble away from Damon. Her movements were slow as she was still very weak from the blood loss. Her weakness only seemed to heighten her fears and feeling of helplessness. Damon grasped her arms and tried to still her not wanting her the pull out her IV or hurt herself further. "Let me go, please…please let me go!" Her screams had Alaric rushing back into the room. "Don't touch me…don't…please don't touch me!" Damon stared at her at a loss as to how to calm her. Alaric moved to the other side of the bed, crawled up and grabbed at Bonnie from the opposite side to where Damon stood trying to hold her. She flinched to his touch but when she finally recognized him, she reached for him. "Don't let him hurt me, please," She sobbed as she gripped at Alaric's shirt and he instinctively wrapped his arms around her. "Don't let him touch me anymore … please, please," Bonnie continued to sob but lower in an exhausted and almost defeated tone. His heart broke a little at seeing Bonnie in such a broken state. Normally, she was so strong in her will and by her nature. In her current state, she seemed so small, so fragile, and completely terrified of Damon.

"Shhhh, it's okay Bonnie. No one's gonna hurt you," Alaric assured her as he rocked her gently in his arms and stared up at Damon with questioning eyes. She had quelled her cries but continued to sniffle and whimper as she buried her face against his chest as if she were trying to hide. "What else did you … the other you do to her?" Alaric questioned in an accusatory manner as anger masked his face. Damon stood with his jaws clenched and his hands fisted at his side as thoughts invoked by Alaric's question began to consume him. Disgust, shame, and then an all-consuming rage filled him. Alaric noticed that his blue eyes were now completely black, a true sign that Damon was angry and close to becoming maniacal. Alaric had dealt with plenty of 'Rippers' in his day and Damon in such a state was something far worse in his opinion. Damon then moved to the exit.

"Stay with her," Damon instructed as he was just about to cross the threshold of his bedroom door. He paused, turned his head slightly, and locked eyes to Alaric's. "Keep her safe, Ric," He said in a warning manner and Alaric nodded his understanding.

"What are you going to do?" Alaric questioned.

"I'm going to go kill myself," Was Damon's reply before he flashed away and out into the night on the hunt for his duplicate.


	4. Chapter 4

It hadn't taken much effort on his part to find his target. Damon had concluded that if this doppelganger was anything like him then he would likely retreat to the same places that he always did. So, Damon wasn't at all surprised to find Dark Damon standing in the cemetery staring at the vampire's tomb. By the way, Dark Damon stood, turned to where Damon approached and cast him a sinister smirk, Damon could tell that he was not surprised to see him either.

"I know why you came here but she's not in there," Damon finally spoke as he thoroughly studied this duplicate of himself who was now out of the dressy clothes, he had on when he last saw him. Now he wore all black likely taken from some unsuspecting man who just happened to be his size and had his sense of style.

"I know, I saw the picture of us … or … you two together," Dark Damon replied as he turned to face himself head-on.

"That wasn't Katherine in that picture," Damon stated and offered no other explanation about who it was in the picture. The last thing he wanted was this cheap knock-off version of himself hunting after Elena as she rested under Kai's spell. It seemed his concern was unwarranted as Dark Damon didn't seem interested in knowing about who it was in the picture.

"Where is Katherine?" Dark Damon hissed out as he glared across to his duplicate.

"God," Damon lifted his head and rolled his eyes dramatically for effect. "Dead and burning in hell, I hope," He finally answered and Dark Damon looked at him perplexed, for he could not imagine any world where he didn't want his beloved Katherine with him. "What I want to know is, what the fuck did you do to Bonnie," Damon asked as his eyes blackened over, black veins popped out, and he flashed his fangs. It was his way of throwing down the gauntlet and letting it be known that no matter what answer was given, none would really appease him nor stop him from trying to kill his opponent.

"Nothing … yet," Dark Damon replied as he smirked while he licked his lips in a sensual way and then he also dropped his vampiric mask to prepare for battle. "You interrupted me before I could get a good taste of 'that' sweet nectar, but you can let her know I plan on taking a raincheck," He then tossed out a wink. Damon became incensed by Dark Damon's words and the images it caused in his head. The thought of this man or any man touching Bonnie intimately made him what to carnage, though he would not allow himself to rationalize why. And judging by the gloating look on Dark Damon's face he also knew that this witch named Bonnie was his Achilles Heel.

"I'm gonna kill you," Damon hissed out.

"Or, I'll kill you and then just take over your life," Dark Damon declared. "I've worked out on my own that this isn't the 50s anymore, but I know I can easily adapt," He added and Damon bunched his brows to this new piece of information. Both of them crouched lower as they prepared to attacked but were stopped by the flash of lights that illuminated them.

"Damon?" The voice of Sheriff Matt Donovan called out to him as he shone his flashlight right in Damon's face who squinted back at him. "What are you doing out here. Please tell me it's not you who has been doing all the recent vandalism here in the cemetery." Matt then moved his lights from Damon over to Dark Damon who cast him back a menacing scowl. "What the hell?" Matt gasped out as he quickly moved the light back to Damon and then back to where Dark Damon had been but was no longer.

"Goddamn it, Donovan!" Damon roared in anger which didn't quite reach the ears of the still stunned Matt Donovan. "How is it you never show up when someone actually needs your help, but when we're handling things just fine you managed to roll in and fuck it all up?"

"Damon what's going on, who was that and why did he look like you?" Matt questioned ignoring Damon's tirade while he turned off his light and took steps to Damon while he continued to stare at the spot where Dark Damon had just been.

"No one you need to worry about because when I find him, I'm going to kill him," Damon stated.

"Yeah, you make sure you do that because I don't want to have to deal with two Damon Salvatores. My tolerance for assholes is already low, thanks to you. So, where did he go?" Matt asked.

"Bonnie," Damon gasped out before he flashed away.

"Wait … what about Bonnie?" Matt called out after him but Damon was long gone already nearly back at the doorsteps of the boardinghouse.

When Damon had arrived back at the boardinghouse, he had his senses on high alert. He panicked when he couldn't sense either Bonnie or Alaric within the house, not a single heartbeat could be heard within. He pulled out his cell and dialed Alaric.

"Where's Bonnie, and she better be all right, Ric, or so help me," Damon threatened as soon as he heard the click connecting the call.

"Hello, to you too, Damon," Alaric replied back. "Bonnie's with me and she's fine. We're at her Grams house," He said and then stumbled a bit in the spot where he stood on the front porch of Bonnie's Grams house, due to the force of Damon flashing right in front of him.

"Where is she?"

"She's up in her room. She's better after the second transfusion but you will still need to heal her … But Damon…," Alaric spoke out and then paused as he tried to find the words.

"What Ric? And why did you bring her here anyway?" Damon demanded.

"After you left, she became more lucid and she was insistent that she wouldn't be safe at the boardinghouse, and given that that was where she was attacked, I believed her. She wanted to come to her Grams so I brought her. Damon, she's very frightened of … She's just really frightened right now. It's almost like she's a completely different person," Alaric stated. "I have never seen Bonnie so fragile and broken, not Bonnie. So, you need to handle her with care."

"Yeah, I noticed that she's scared shitless of 'me', Ric," Damon cut through the BS and stated what Alaric was trying to cautiously say to him. "If there were anyone else to heal her, I'd ask them, but there's just me. I get why she would be scared of me-"

"No, she's horrifically terrified of you, Damon. She pissed herself she was so scared," Alaric corrected knowing this cut Damon deeply.

"What else can I do?" Damon asked pitifully and hoped that Alaric would give him an alternative solution. "I won't let her die or let my doppelganger's bite mar her neck and be a constant reminder to her for the rest of her life," Damon replied and Alaric nodded his understanding. When he first became aware of Damon and Bonnie becoming besties, he had actually laughed out loud about it. He had always known there was something more between them other than detesting and loathing and would have bet money that eventually it would boil over to something sexual. But he had never imagined it would blossom into an intense bond of devotion, love, and such a beautiful friendship. He had been friends with Damon much longer, but he knew that the friendship Damon had formed with Bonnie over the past year was dearer and much more important to him.

"She's upstairs," Alaric said as he turned from his friend and focused back into the surrounding darkness for any incoming threat. He'd let Damon do what he felt he needed to do to help Bonnie. Alaric was all on board saving Bonnie as she had selflessly saved them all countless times.


	5. Chapter 5

He watched her silently through her bedroom door, which was slightly ajar. She lay in the bed with her back supported by a lot of pillows. She still had the transfusion fed into her arm. She had her knees bent and pressed against her chest, held tightly by her arms wrapped securely around them. She stared blankly out the window closest to her bed as she rocked herself slightly.

"Bonnie," Damon called to her softly and then noticed the way her entire body went stiff with fear as her eyes drop from staring out the window to staring down to her crimson red painted toes. Her face which had held no expression mere seconds before now creased in fear and anguish. When she didn't reply to him, he pushed the door opened and took a couple of careful steps into her room. This made her turn to him with tears already spilling from her eyes as she looked up at him with a look of desperation.

"Please…please don't touch me," She cried out as she folded herself further back against the pillows and shook her head slightly. The sight of her nearly made his knees buckle from his anguish at knowing he was invoking such fear in her. In all the time he had known her even back when he was purposely trying to scare her, he had never seen her this afraid of him.

"I'm not going to hurt you, Bonnie," He promised as he tried to pacify her obvious anxiety with him being so near her. She bowed her head as her body shook from her soft crying. "Look at me, Bon-Bon," He coaxed her and she did look in his direction though her eyes settled on the collar of the black shirt he wore. "It's me, the real Damon," She did speak reply to this but it was so low and muffled even his sensitive hearing couldn't pick it up. "What was that?"

"He's real too," Bonnie replied meekly. "The other Damon … I think I made him from the photo," She explained. "When I duplicated your ring, I think I duplicated him too. He's the 1950s Damon from that photo," Damon's mouth fell open in surprise. "I thought he was 'you', but then you …" She cut her words short as she closed her eyes and shook her head before opening her eyes again to continue. "He acted off. Then, he started touching me," She subconsciously wrung her hands together as if she were trying to clean off some dirt from them, and Damon clamped his eyes shut and a single tear escaped before he quickly wiped it away. "I was so scared. He was hurting me and enjoying it," Damon stepped to the bed ignoring the way Bonnie jumped and recoiled a little. He dropped to his knees at her bedside. He wanted to touch her, hold her hand, and assure her that 'he' would never hurt her like that.

"I'm so sorry that he hurt you, Bonnie, so sorry," He said as he fisted his hands in the duvet on her bed. "And I'm furious that the monster who hurt you had my face and that what he did has you scared of me. But I promise you he will never hurt you again and when I find him, I'm gonna make him hurt and make him afraid. But I'm gonna need your help to do it, so we have to get you healed," He said gently as he lifted his wrist to his mouth, punctured himself until there was a nice blood flow. Bonnie shook her head as she watched his action. "C'mon you have to drink, there's no one else around to heal you, and if you don't heal that nasty scar on your neck will never go away," At those words her eyes widened a bit. He hated having to frighten her more but also knew the tactic would work as he slowly raised his bloodied wrist to her mouth. She moved her mouth to his offered wrist but she didn't touch him as she had in the past when he would heal her. She only placed her mouth to the open wound and drank, all while watching him wearily. She knew it wouldn't take much and so after a couple of swallows she moved back away from him. He reached up to move her hair from her neck so he could check the wound and she jerked from him. "I just want to check that it's enough, that it will heal," He informed as he continued to approach with his hand knowing it made her uncomfortable, but he needed to know for sure that she would be ok and have no physical scars.

Bonnie forced herself to be still but her heart pounded against her ribcage as Damon brushed her tresses back over her shoulder to expose her neck. It was already nearly healed. Satisfied he released her hair and then stood and left the room. After a few seconds, he had returned, moved to the other side of the bed and seated himself. He tried to not let his hurt show when she scurried away to the other side of the bed. He simply busied himself with turning off the IV drip. He then grasped her arm and slowly removed the needle from her arm, pressed gauze to the wound, and finally wrapped it in a band-aid.

"I can't help you," Bonnie's shaky voice broke through the silence and Damon looked over at her. "My magic won't work on him. I tried to use it to fight him off but it didn't work. He mentioned a spell that a witch friend of his did for him."

"Hazel," He affirmed with a nod of his head as he recalled and she lifted her eyes to look directly at him. "She did a spell that would bound the magic of any witch that tried to mojo me," He explained and then remembered something else about the spell. "Oh God, Bonnie, I'm so sorry," He said remorsefully as she stared at him confused. "You need to understand that during that time, I was in a very dark place. I had just escaped my captors after years of being locked up and tortured by them. I think it made me half-crazy because once I got out all I could think about was getting revenge and hurting anyone who hurt me or tried to hurt me. And I had no love for any witch, particularly back then, not even for the few I would manipulate to do my bidding."

"After you'd get them to do your bidding, you'd kill them, right? The other you gloated about it," She interjected and he nodded his head which bowed a bit under his shame.

"Yes, so, I told Hazel to cast a spell on any witch who tried to hex me. Make it so that it would bound their powers but also to make them feel it and fear me. That feeling of being powerless. I know and knew then, that that is the worst thing in the world for a witch, them feeling powerless. It seems to be the scariest thing for a witch."

"Yes, it is. It's like losing one of your senses. I feel it so intensely now," Bonnie admitted as her tears fell freely from her eyes. "I feel powerless, and helpless, and so afraid all at once. I feel like I'm stumbling around in some dark place and there's a monster in the darkness that wants me. And it's gonna jump out and grab me any moment but I can't see it or fight it off," She said and as Damon watched her understanding, a sadness filled him.

"And I'm that monster in the darkness," He deduced and she affirmed with a nod of her head.

"I've never felt this scared of you before, Damon, not even back when we wanted to kill each other. And this fear, it's so crippling. Right now, I want to run away from you but I can't because I'm so scared that I can't move my legs," She confessed and at knowing this Damon quickly stood from the bed and backed away from her to give her space. She visually exhaled her relief. "I'm sorry, Damon, but I can't help it," She cried softly and he took a single step back towards her to console her but remember their dilemma.

"Don't apologize to me," He said a little harsher than he had intended to, but his anger flared at the thought of her feeling sorry for him when she was the one being terrorized. "None of this is your fault, Bonnie. I did this to you, although not purposely it's still all my fault. But I am going to fix this. I promise you. I will keep you safe until I can break the spell and get rid of the other me."

"How?" She questioned as she stared up at him with disbelief in her eyes.

"Breaking the spell will be the easy part," He stated. "Hazel told me that the spell would work so long as she is alive. So, I'll just track her down and snap her neck. She's gotta be close to kicking off anyways, right? So, it'll probably be like a mercy killing," He spoke matter-of-factly and with little regard to what he was saying or how Bonnie would feel about it. He honestly didn't care because it was what had to be done to protect Bonnie. He knew that Bonnie knew him well enough to know he had no qualms about committing murder to protect someone he cared for. He looked down to the floor as he contemplated his plan and was sure it would work until Bonnie spoke again.

"If that's true then Hazel is already dead," Bonnie proclaimed.

"How do you know that?" Damon asked as he frowned up at her.

"Motus!" She spoke out and the teddy bear they sometimes shared custody of flew from beside her on the bed and struck Damon in the head and then dropped to the floor. "Because I can use magic on you," She answered as he squatted down, picked up Ms. Cuddles, and clutched her to his chest as he realized the plan was a bust. "The other Damon, he's out of time but seems to be exactly as he was during his time."

"Fine, then I just have to find him and kill him."

"But…" Bonnie began to speak but the way he snapped his glary eyes on to her she cowered and clamped her mouth shut in fear. Despite knowing the reason why he was mad at her being this timid fraidy cat when normally she was so fierce and brave about everything. Particularly, when it came to any confrontations with him.

"You don't have to be afraid of me. I'm not him. 'I' would never hurt you, Bon, and you know that because you know 'me'," Damon said with conviction as she looked at him dead on and nodded because she did know it, but knowing it didn't douse out the near overwhelming fear she felt when she looked at him. She took a deep breath to center herself before she started to speak again.

"We don't know what would happen to you if you killed him," She continued and he smiled warmly at her. Even after everything that had just happened to her 'technically' by his hands, she still was concerned about his well-being. "I mean, what if killing the past, you, kills the present you?"

"Well, I've lived a good life and unlife, for the most part," Damon half-joked and Bonnie frowned up not caring for it but still too afraid of him to tell him so. He could see it in her eyes though. "Look, what other choice do I have. Let him come after you? Because he will," He stated though not with the intent to scare but to prepare her and to make her realize his plan was the best course of action. "He told me he would and I already know he will because 'I' would have. Just like I know what he will do to you if he gets the chance, and Bonnie," He waited until he had her undivided attention before he continued. "I would rather die than to allow that to happen."

"Okay," She conceded with a nod. "But how can I help you if I can't use my magic? When we got here the first thing, I did was search Grams grimoire, but every spell I tried didn't seem to work."

"Then you don't' try to help, you stay here hidden. I didn't know of this place back in the 50s. So, there's no way he would know either."

"Unless, he can read your mind," She offered.

"Are you purposely trying to scare yourself?" He asked as a scowl crossed his face. She shook her head.

"No, just trying to think of all the possible loopholes."

"Just trust me on this, I can't read his mind because if I could I'd be wherever he is right now trying to take his head. So, I'm sure he can't read my mind either. But I do have the upper hand on him because I've already been him, so I know how he thinks and can calculate his next move."

"So, what do you think he's doing right now?"

"Probably back at the boardinghouse, lurking about, waiting for an opportunity," Damon concluded but left off the remainder of his tale as so to not scare her further, but knew that she was too intuitive to not get it.

"For an opportunity to finish what he started with me you mean," She said and he simply remained silent. "Did you do that a lot when your humanity was off? Terrorize and rape women."

"More like terrorize and seduce them," He answered truthfully because for the most part his conquests never rejected his advances. His powers of compulsion giving him the advantage.

"But not every woman, right?" She continued to interrogate him. She thought she knew all sides of Damon but after meeting Dark Damon she now knew that there were very dark secrets he kept from her, and now she wondered if she had ever really known him. And until she did could she ever trust him? "There are some of us who are immune to your compulsion, like witches. Did you rape those women?"

"Yes," He answered as he let out a heavy sigh. "Yes, Bonnie, there were witches that I terrorized, raped, and even killed," Again he answered honestly. Mainly because he knew she always knew when he was lying. Also, he knew that his dark half had destroyed a lot of the trust they had built between each other, and if there were a chance of regaining that trust and even making it grow stronger, he had to be open and honest with Bonnie. So, he would tell her the truth about whatever she wanted to know and deal with whatever consequences might come from it.

"Did you ever want to do those things to me? I mean the terrorize part you definitely did when we first met. It was like your favorite pastime. But did you ever want to or plan to rape me?" She couldn't even meet his eyes as she shivered a little in fear, but she wanted to know.

"I wanted you sexually," Was all he replied and this the revelation surprised Bonnie a bit because he had never given her that vibe.

"But I never would have allowed you to seduce me," She stated.

"I know," He gave another short and simple answer that he knew would lead her to the conclusion without him having to vocalize it.

"So, you would have taken me by force?" She pushed on determined to hear the words from his own lips.

"If you had not been such a powerful witch, yes, I likely would have."

"And killed me too," She said this as a statement, not as a question because she already knew that back then he wouldn't have minded taking her life.

"The hatred was intense and mutual between us, remember?" He replied and she nodded to that truth.

"And now?" She looked at him dead in his eyes as she asked this. "Do you still have those feelings towards me now?" He swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat and pushed on. She wanted the truth and so he wouldn't lie to her.

"Yes, I still desire you sexually," He answered as he locked his eyes to hers. "But no, I would never take you by force because I respect you too much. As for me killing you, it would be like killing a part of myself. You're my best friend, you're my family, and I love you, Bonnie Sheila Bennett," He declared and she fell back against the pillow as if his words had knocked the air from her lungs.


	6. Chapter 6

Bonnie didn't know how long she had sat silently looking out the window as her mind mulled over the revelations that Damon had told her. But when she had turned back to the place, he had been standing it was now empty. He had left the room and she hadn't even noticed. She decided to look back through her Grams grimoire for anything that might help them fight Dark Damon but nothing new revealed itself. Then she recalled something that her Grams had told her.

_"Bonnie, you must take care with the spells you cast. Never be arrogant or foolish with the powers you possess. But remember this one important thing about magic, what's done can always be undone."_

The recollection had Bonnie jumping from the bed and out of her bedroom in search of Damon. When she bounded the stairs and entered the living room she only found Alaric there standing by the large bay window still on guard duty. He looked over at her upon hearing her enter.

"Hey, are you okay?" He asked as he turned from the window and took a couple of steps towards her.

"Yeah, I'm all healed … Physically at least," She answered as she rubbed her right hand up and down her left arm. "Where's Damon?"

"He left about 30 minutes ago and he looked murderous," Alaric stated.

"We have to go after him, I think I know how to stop the Dark Damon," She said already moving to the exit. Alaric got there first and blocked her way.

"I don't think that's such a good idea. Damon can handle himself in a fight," Alaric said. "And this time he's literally fighting his own demon and the way he looked when he left, I have no doubt he'll win."

"But what if he doesn't?" Bonnie countered. "Like you said he's fighting himself, the one being in the world who knows him best. Knows all of his moves. What if Dark Damon kills our Damon?" Alaric had no answer so he said nothing. "Look, I know how to stop Dark Damon, so we need to get over to the boardinghouse before it's too late, and if you won't take me, I'll find another way on my own. I've never been really good at teleportation spells but if that's my only option…" She threw out the threat and Alaric groaned a little as he rolled his eyes.

"All right, let's go," He replied as he ushered her out the door and to his truck.

* * *

**Elsewhere**

* * *

He had entered his home and moved straight to the living room and then to the bar where he started to fix a couple of drinks.

"I know you're here, so why don't you come out so that we can 'talk'," He spoke out casually and as if he were not alone in the room. Within a few second the other Damon entered with a smile on his face. He strolled to the couch and settled onto it as if he hadn't a care in the world. "Drink?" Damon offered as he held up his full glass of bourbon.

"No thank you," Dark Damon replied with a dismissive wave of his hand. "So, where's our little 'Bon-Bon'?" He continued and Damon's gaze darkened.

"Somewhere you'll never find her."

"Oh, I don't know about that. Mystic Falls isn't really that big, and I'm sure Bonnie's not the only witch in town," Dark Damon remarked. "Even a mediocre witch could cast a locator spell to find her."

"You're right, and another witch could also help you to get back to where you came from," Damon Counter. "In fact, Bonnie would help with that, but we both know you already know that," He continued and Dark Damon arched a brow and smiled a little at his other-self. "So, what do you really want?"

"I think you know," Dark Damon said. "It's the same thing 'you' want."

"No, you're wrong. Now, had you asked me a couple of years ago I probably would have agreed. Hell, I probably would have helped you. But things have changed. I care a great deal for Bonnie, and I will not let you touch her," Dark Damon threw his head back a laughed boisterously.

"You deny wanting it, yet you know 'exactly' what it is that I want from the witch," He said and though Damon tried his damnedest not to react in any way, Dark Damon saw him falter a little. "And you know because it's what you really want too."

* * *

They had driven in silence for the past 15 minutes as they made their way to the Salvatore mansion. Finally, Alaric's curiosity got the best of him and he started to speak.

"Are you sure you're up for this?" He asked as he glanced over at Bonnie who sat with her forehead resting against the passenger side window. She watched the scenery that flew by but wasn't really focusing on any of it.

"No," She answered after a moment to reflect. "There will be two Damons and I already want to vomit just thinking about it. But one of those Damons is 'my' Damon and my best friend, so I am going to help him fight in any way that I can," She said and sounded as if she were giving herself a pep talk.

"Before he headed out, Damon mentioned a few things to me, like this 'doppelganger' is actually him, but from nearly 60 years ago. It's weird because no matter which one wins, they're still both Damon."

"I know, and believe me I am really struggling with that right now. It's kind of giving me a major headache, I'm so scared."

"Yeah, I can see that," Alaric replied as he threw her a sympathetic glance. "Damon also told me about the spell and that that is the reason you're so deathly afraid of him. But sounds like once we dispatch this 'Dark Damon' as you call him, then that spell will be broken, right. Then, things can return to normal with you and Damon."

"I don't even know if that's possible," Bonnie spoke lowly but Alaric still heard her.

"Why not?"

"I'm seeing a side of Damon that, honestly, I never knew existed. I mean, I never would have imagined he was ever that kind of … evil," She said as she frowned up with disgust just thinking about it.

"Bonnie, Damon, is a vampire. Has been a vampire for nearly 200 years. Vampires are inherently evil by nature but as you well know they can 'choose' to be good, to keep their humanity. Damon, our Damon, he's worked hard to do good and be a good man. And yeah, he does fail sometimes and does some things someone might deem as 'evil' but it is always with the best of intentions in mind," He finished his speech and looked at her and could tell that she wasn't really listening. "There's something else bothering you about all of this, what is it?"

"He wanted to rape me, Alaric," She confessed as she looked at him with wet eyes. Alaric had suspected something along those lines with the way she had reacted earlier to Damon's touch.

"I kinda guessed something like that had happened, and I'm so sorry Bonnie. And that explains why Damon wants to kill him so badly," He stated.

"I'm not talking about Dark Damon. I mean, yes, he wanted to … tried to. But that's not what I meant," Bonnie said and Alaric's brows bunched up in confusion.

"What do you mean?" He questioned.

"Damon told me that he wanted me sexually," She began to answer. "Our Damon, I mean."

"Well, anybody who has eyes could see that, Bonnie," Alaric defended a fact he figured Bonnie hadn't been aware of. "You two have always had some serious sexual energy around you, and it was amplified back when you hated each other," Bonnie frowned as she heard this because she truly hadn't been aware of this. "And now, well Bonnie, you are a very beautiful woman. I think you'd be hard press to find any man who doesn't find you desirable, myself included," He confessed.

"But he also told me that he would have raped me when we first met, had I not been such a powerful witch," She blurted out and Alaric swerved the truck a little when the shocking words hit his ears. "But I didn't know I was giving off some sexual energy, so maybe that's why he felt that urge," She said as she gave it serious thought.

"What!? No, no!" He barked out and his tone reflected his growing anger at what he was being told. He knew the Damon that had come to Mystic Falls years back was capable of what Bonnie was saying. But the fact that it was Bonnie on the receiving end of that threat royally pissed him off. He deeply cared for her, she had become like family to him just as Elena and Jeremy had. "There is nothing that you, or any woman for that matter, could ever do to warrant being raped. And I can't believe Damon would tell you that, that he had those kinds of sick thoughts towards you."

"Damon wouldn't hurt me like that, not now," She stated and sounded to Alaric as if she were defending him, but she truly believed it and knew it to be true. "But, yeah, it's shocking and sickening to me to know that once upon a time he had those thoughts about me."

"Why would he even tell you some shit like that?"

"Because I asked him and because he is my very best friend," She said wit a slanted smile as if she were remembering that fact. "Damon is not the man he used to be, him and Dark Damon, it's like their two entirely different men. He's changed so much in the last 50, 60 years. Hell, he's not even the same man he was just a couple of years ago, he's grown so much. His love for Elena really has changed him."

"But not just his love for Elena. He loves you too, you know," Alaric interjected and Bonnie nodded her head.

"Yeah, he told me that too and that he 'still' sexually desires me," She finished as she hugged herself in a comforting manner.

"And that's what's really bothering you, isn't it?" Alaric asked as he began to understand.

"Well … yes. My best friend who also happens to be the boyfriend of my other best friend, tells me that he loves me and that he wants to have sex with me. Don't you think that's a little disconcerting, and I should be worried about it?"

"Only if you also had those feelings about him," Alaric replied and slapped Bonnie in the face with the real dilemma. She shot wide stunned eyes onto him but then just as quickly averted them down to her hands which were clamped together and settled in her lap. A wave of shame and guilt washed over her at knowing her dark secret had been revealed. She did love Damon and desired him very much. Both had happened back when they were trapped in Kai's prison world. It had been easy for her to bury and ignore because she was positive that he would never reciprocate. Not with his undying love and devotion to Elena. But now that he had revealed to her his true feelings for her, she wasn't sure how their relationship, their friendship could continue as it had before.


	7. Chapter 7

The room was a mess with broken furniture and antiques which had decorated the room now covering the floor. Damon had attacked with ferocious anger and hatred after his dark half had suggested they take turns violating Bonnie. He now held a bloodied Dark Damon up against a wall with his arm upon his throat, but his reflection simply laughed down at him.

"You can fight me even kill me, but it won't change the truth about who you really are and what you really want," Dark Damon taunted and Damon swallowed down the lump in his throat and tried to push away his fears that what he was hearing was factual. "You're a vampire, why are you pretending to be a good man? What does trying to do good get you, that you can't just take if you really wanted to?" Dark Damon asked.

"Her love," Damon answered truthfully and his words made his dark half's face take on a disgusted look. Suddenly Dark Damon spat the blood that filled his mouth into Damon's face, which distracted him and made him release his hold. And Dark Damon flashed to the other side of the room.

"God, you're pathetic," He spat out at Damon who stood wiping the blood from his face. "Now, I really have to kill you just to put you out of 'my' misery. And I'm gonna kill her too, for turning me into some fucking lap dog," He declared.

"You will never touch her again," Damon promised as he vamped out. "She's mine, and no one else will ever touch her," He declared not realizing that Bonnie and Alaric were standing in the doorway.

"Wow, what kind of spell have you cast on me witch?" Dark Damon asked around a saucy smile and Damon turned to where Bonnie stood watching them with fright-filled eyes.

"Bonnie, get out of here!" Damon yelled.

"No, stay," Dark Damon countered. "I'll save me the trouble of having to hunt you down later," He then flashed towards her but Damon got in between and tackled him away and caused them both to go sliding across the floor as Bonnie screamed out and jumped back a little.

"Whatever plan you had, now would be the time to do it," Alaric stated as he stood beside her aiming the crossbow, he had brought in with him. He wasn't sure he would be able to get a good shot due to the two Damon's wrestling about, but also because it was hard for him to track which was which. Bonnie nodded and then began to scan the room looking for the picture she had put the spell on earlier. She moved to the table that what once stood between the couch and the large fireplace, which we still ablaze.

"I need to find the picture," She called out to Alaric. "It has Damon in is with a group of people at some party," She added and Alaric moved his focus from the two men still fighting on the floor. They had just pulled down the drapes that covered one of the ceiling tall windows, and the new morning's sun illuminated the once darkened room.

"Bonnie!" It had been Damon's voice that called to her and she turned to in time to catch the object he had tossed to her as he still struggled with his dark half, who had gotten the upper hand. Dark Damon had gotten him penned down and had clutched his hand over Damon's heart where he pressed down with the intention of pulling out his heart. Damon hand one hand gripping Dark Damon's hand as he used the other to get the photo he had found over to Bonnie. When he flung the photo and she caught Dark Damon looked over at her in time to see her hold the framed photo out to the fire blazing in the hearth.

"Exsolutus!" She yelled out and then tossed the photo into the fire. Dark Damon instantly cried out in excruciating pain as his entire body combusted into flames. Damon kicked him off as he watched himself burn and then disappear in smoke. The 3 remaining beings panted out as they stared at the spot where Dark Damon he just been. But then the silence in the room was once again filled with Damon's screams as he too caught fire.

"Damon!" Bonnie cried out as she rushed to him and covered him with the fallen drapes. He scrambled to his feet and out of the direct sunlight pouring through the exposed window.

"What happened, is the spell affecting him too?" Alaric asked as he and Bonnie bot smacked at Damon to put out the fire.

"No, I just undid the spell that I did earlier, the one that created Dark Damon," Bonnie began to explain as Damon pushed off the drapes to sow that he was no longer on fire. "That took away the duplicate daylight ring," At those words, Damon turned his hand over and his finger was bear of his ring. "Promo," She said and the ring suddenly reappeared.

"What did you do?" Damon questioned.

"You didn't just conjure up anymore duplicate evil Damons, did you?" Alaric added as he gripped his crossbow as if expecting another Damon to jump out at them.

"No, I just did what I should have done in the first place. I located the real ring and brought it back to you," Bonnie said. "I was in such a hurry earlier that it hadn't even crossed my mind to do it that way. I got careless with my magic and I'm so sorry," She offered.

"I told you not to apologize," Damon said in a warning tone and Bonnie instantly realize that she felt no fear of him and she smiled up at him.

"And when have I ever done anything you've told me to do?" She teased and he tossed her a smirk. He was genuinely happy to see her spunk return.

"So, we're all good now?" Alaric asked as he looked between Bonnie and Damon. "Everything's back to normal?" Those words made both Damon and Bonnie drop their eyes down to the floor.

"Yeah, everything's back to normal," Bonnie answered. "No more Dark Damon and no more being afraid. I guess whatever spell tied to the other Damon was undone along with him. I'm no longer affected by it. You don't scare me anymore," She said to Damon as she shot him a glance which he returned. He also noticed the way hugged herself as she said. That was a defense mechanism for her, and it told him that she was in fact still a little scared.

"Good," Alaric said with a sigh. "Then I'm going home to sleep. Or did you need me to stay and help you clean up the mess?" He said as he pointed back towards the living room.

"No, it'll keep until tomorrow," Damon said and his tone sounded defeated. "Thanks, brother," He gave Alaric a nod and slight smile which Alaric returned in kind and then he focused onto Bonnie.

"Did you want me to drop you back at your Grams?" He asked. After all that had happened and the things she had told him, Alaric didn't want to assume that she would be comfortable being left alone with Damon.

"No, I left my car here so I'm good, but thank you Alaric, for everything," Bonnie replied but he made no move to actually left. "Really, I'm okay, but I do need to talk to Damon in private," She added and Alaric relented with a nod.

"All right, but if you need anything just call."

"Thank you and I will," She assured and he nodded to them both and then walked out.

They had both stood silent in the foyer for several minutes after Alaric had left. Neither could meet the other's eyes or muster up the courage to be the first to speak.

"Bonnie I-" Damon tried to speak but she cut off his words with her own.

"Are you in love with me?" She asked as she now looked up at him as he stared directly back at her. He didn't reply at first as he swallowed nervously. She said nothing more as she didn't want to scare him off or interrupt the moment.

"I am," He finally answered and was a little surprised that she held no look of anger or outrage on her face, as he had always imagined that she would if she ever found out how he felt about her.

"What about Elena? She's supposed to be the great love of your life."

"And I love Elena, I always will, but me having a love for her has nothing to do with my being in love with you. I think she already knew about my feelings for you and she even helped me to realize them before Kai's spell," Damon stated and Bonnie scoffed a little at his words as she folded her arms across her chest.

"You being in a relationship with Elena is a pretty fucking big deal, Damon. Because I think you know me well enough to know that I would never play second fiddle to anyone that way."

"I do, and I think you know me well enough to know that I would never expect nor ask you to. And I'm 'not' asking you to," He replied slightly pissed by the insinuation. "Look, you asked me how I feel and I've told you the truth, but it doesn't have to change anything. It doesn't have to change our friendship if you don't it to."

"Damon," She spoke as she looked at him dumbfounded because he was being so obtuse. "It changes everything."

"Why?" He questioned her now as he took a step closer to where she stood and suddenly, she felt smaller under his gaze.

"Because you can't tell me that you're in love with me and that you want me…" She sputtered out as tears started to form in her eyes. So, she paused and placed her hands on hips and let her eyes darted about. She was now really sorry that she had asked him about his feelings because it left the door wide open for her own feelings to escape. "A…and expect us to be chummy pals afterward."

"Why?" He pressed on as he took another step to her and now, he was nearly chest to chest with her as he stared down at her searching her eyes. "Why can't I be in love with you and desire you and still keep you as my best friend? It's been working fine so far," He stated and she looked to him confused by his words. "I would never push the issue, I haven't yet and I've felt this way for some time now," He proclaimed and she couldn't hide her surprise as she looked up at him upon hearing this. "I would never even had told you if you hadn't just asked me. I would have lived the rest of my life pretending that I only wanted to be just your friend. I would always be there to hold your hand when you needed me to, even though I would be tempted to intertwine my finger with yours. I'd give you hugs whenever you wanted or needed them and hope you never noticed that I would always hold on just little longer then I needed to, simply because I didn't want to let you go. I'd kiss your cheek," He then reached up and stroked his knuckles across her cheek before letting his hand fall away again. "And then stop myself before grabbing your face and kissing you senseless. I have fought all of those urges just be your best friend, and I can continue to do so if you want me to. Is that what you want, Bonnie?" He asked her and when she looked at him, she could see the hope in his eyes. "Or do you love me too? Do you desire me too? Do you want to be more than just best friends?" He threw his cards on the table and now asked that she either show her hand and tell him the truth or fold and continued to lie and pretend.

"But Elena," She whispered out as her tears filled her eyes.

"Bonnie Bennett," He growled a little in his frustration. "Do you love me, are you in love with me?" He asked in a way that would leave no room for misunderstandings. She simply nodded her head to which Damon shook his. "No, say it. I want you to tell me how you feel about me."

"I love you, Damon," She confessed as she clamped her eyes closed and allowed her tears to fall free. "I'm in love with you and I do want to be with you so badly, and I have since being stuck in Kai's prison with you," She continued as she looked at him again and he smiled endearingly at her. It warmed him inside to know that she felt the same and had felt it for a long as he had. "But-" Whatever she had meant to say died on her lips and were forgotten when she felt his warm, welcoming mouth captured hers. Then his strong arms envelop her, held her close, and nothing else in the entire Universe mattered.

**The End (really!)**


End file.
